Feed aggregator

Is Santa bringing you a new device this year? Before you rush out to spend that holiday cash or gift card on popular e-book titles for your new tablet or smartphone – take the lead from National Public Radio (NPR) and talk to your local librarian.

In fact, WCCLS’ own Lisa Tattersall, Adult Services Program Supervisor is the librarian that NPR referred to when they wrote, "it’s always awesome to make librarians happy." Via Twitter, Tattersall encouraged NPR Books to include a link to WorldCat for each book recommended in the Book Concierge. One day later, developers implemented Tattersall’s suggestion, adding a Find at Your Library option. Leveraging WorldCat allows readers across the country to easily locate recommended titles at their nearest library.

Locally, Tattersall’s own recommendation is to explore the amazing collection of free, best-selling e-books and audiobooks available for all ages through our website - wccls.org/ebooks. "Wait times are short for new titles in the 3M Cloud Library app," says Tattersall, "and a lot of the best sellers from years past are often available to check out right away."

Your local librarian can help you find that next great read – one that fits your interests. They can also recommend additional titles based on authors and series you’ve read previously and enjoyed.

As a WCCLS patron, you have access to great reads on your tablet or smartphone. Use your library card to enjoy popular titles on your new devices throughout the new year, without spending any extra money this holiday season.

It's built on the understanding that parents are a child's first teacher and they can grow the skills needed to become successful in school through these simple, every day activities:

TALKINGSINGINGREADINGPLAYING(and we would throw in WRITING)

When parents interact with their children in fun and meaningful ways, learning happens!

I like to compare the act of raising a reader with growing a flower. 4 basic needs must be met if the flower is going to grow:1) SUN2) WATER3) AIR4) SOIL

Think of the SUN as TALKING. If you surround your child with the warm glow of words, stories and conversations, their vocabularies will bloom, reaching always higher and higher.

Think of the WATER as SINGING. If you feed a melodious stream of song to your child, they will grow to respond to the rhythms and sounds that make up our language.

Think of the AIR as WRITING. If you draw and engage in fingerplays with your child, they will build the motor skills needed to put their own thoughts into the shape of the written word.

Think of the SOIL as READING. If you plant your child firmly in a ground of reading, they will grow rooted to a world of books and learning.

There is one last ingredient that keeps flowers blooming year in, year out: BEES!

Think of the BEES as PLAYING. Through a steady pollination of play, children go from being potential readers to actual readers. Children must enjoy reading and see its benefits firsthand. It is critical that we keep all early learning activities buzzing with fun!

If you follow these 5 basic practices in your daily interactions with your children, you will help them blossom into beautiful readers and eager learners!

We encourage you to learn more about Oregon's stORytime initiative by visiting them on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

The Washington County Cooperative Library Services (WCCLS) is pleased to be the recipient of a $2,500 grant from Umpqua Bank in support of the 2015 Art of the Story Festival. This 11th annual festival will once again serve as a local celebration of national library week, April 11–18, and will feature five master storytellers.Gabe Norris, AVP and Store Manager of Tualatin Umpqua Bank awards the $2,500 check to Julie Wickman, a member of the WCCLS Art of the Story Festival planning committee, and Library Program Specialist with the Tualatin Public Library. A goal of the festival is to foster an appreciation for the role that the oral storytelling tradition plays within families, communities and cultures. The festival draws the generations together from across Washington County and beyond. It is a true community festival - attendees follow from venue to venue - building friendships, exploring communities and enjoying each of the 15+ customized performances.

Nicole Stein, Vice President of Community Responsibility with Umpqua Bank explains the banks support, sharing that “as the west coast’s largest community bank, Umpqua Bank believes that we have an obligation to support local communities and invest in their future. We know the critical role that education plays in the long-term success of youth and are excited to be able to support the Art of the Story Festival, especially since storytelling is a great way to build vocabulary and enhance literacy for youth in our communities.” The festival format provides a foundation for cultural learning, offering storytelling workshops, a story swap and a museum partnership with a family history gathering workshop. Prior years have included historical recounting of WWII internment and 442nd military tales, personal adventure and ghost stories, stories from a range of cultures, including Hawaiian, Japanese, Chinese, Filipino, Latino, African, Native American, and Jewish.

The WCCLS Art of the Story Festival provides region-wide exposure and continues to build audience and prestige. Admission is always free and programs are designed for adults, and where noted, appropriate for ages 6+.Mark your calendar now for this annual tradition: April 11–18, 2015. It is already a favorite of over 1,500 attendees from throughout our community. Bookmark the festival web page to stay up to date on the latest details: www.wccls.org/festival.

3M is our newest collection of e-books. You can download ebooks for all ages through the 3M Cloud Library app on your tablet, phone, PC, or Mac.

Overdrive offers audiobooks in addition to e-books, so your family can listen together to entertaining stories on those long road trips.

Tumblebooks features online animated talking books for young children.

Enjoy peaceful travel, while your kids read e-books "in the rain, and in the dark, and on a train, and in a car, and in a tree.... they are so good, so good, you see!" And download some for yourself while you're at it.

Please note most WCCLS member libraries will be have reduced hours next week surrounding the Thanksgiving holiday.... but remember that you can download e-books and audiobooks anytime! We wish you a safe and happy Thanksgiving.

Hey! Are you an artist who also happens to be age 12-18? Submit a design to our Teen Summer Reading Artwork Contest!

The winning design will be used on 2015 Teen Summer Reading program materials across Washington County, including posters, bookmarks, flyers and more.

The winner also receives a $150 gift certificate for Powell's Books. The second place winner receives a $50 gift certificate for Blick Art Materials, and the winner of honorable mention will get a $25 Blick gift certificate.

"We will need writers who can remember freedom.... Right now, I think we need writers who need to know the difference between the production of a market commodity and the practice of an art." - Ursula Le Guin

The Friends of the Hillsboro Public Library recently funded the purchase of a 3D printer as another tool in the Library for people to explore creative possibilities, and as an introduction to this fascinating and useful technology.

Over the last few years, there has been an explosion of interest in 3D printing in libraries, due in part to the falling cost of the technology, and the new collaborative labs and makerspaces that are springing up in libraries all over the country.

“3D printing is an emerging and constantly evolving technology, and people are definitely curious about how they work and what they can do. Anything you can dream up and design can be brought to life by one of these printers,” said Brendan Lax, Reader Services Librarian.

The Hillsboro Public Library is excited to explore the capabilities of their new UP Mini 3-D printer with the public, and will be holding an open house on two dates to allow attendees to see how the 3-D printer works and to ask questions:

The UP Mini printer can print objects up to dimensions of 4.5” x 4.5” x 4.5”. Given the time it takes to complete printing, library staff are developing a plan as to how best to provide access to patrons, as well as gauge interest and demand. Plans at this time include offering weekly 3D printing labs by early next year to help patrons design and print their projects.

Eight Oregon children now have a head start on saving for college, thanks to taking part in summer reading. Their names were randomly drawn as winners in Fizz Boom Save!, a statewide campaign designed to promote summer reading programs at public libraries around the state. The Oregon College Savings Plan sponsored the program in partnership with the Oregon State Library and Oregon Library Association.

Overall, the Oregon College Savings Plan awarded just over $11,000: each of the eight winners received a $529 Oregon College Savings Plan account, while 15 libraries — three from each Oregon congressional district — each received $500.

“The Oregon College Savings Plan believes it is fundamentally important to support summer reading programs for Oregon families,” said Michael Parker, executive director of the Oregon 529 College Savings Network. “Studies indicate that children who don't read during the summer can lose up to three months of reading progress. If we can get kids to enjoy reading now, we’re setting them up for greater success in school and in life.”

According to the Oregon State Library, nearly 201,325 children and teens participated in the summer reading programs offered at public libraries throughout Oregon, reading 149,898 books. More than 65,788 participants reached their reading goals and finished the summer reading program.

Several WCCLS member libraries are hosting events Saturday, November 15:

Beaverton City Library: The library's Wii U console will be set up from 10am-12pm in the Teen Room, and board games will be available throughout the day.

Cedar Mill Community Library: 6-9pm, Board games, card games and computer games set up throughout the library for the whole family ages 5 and up (including Dominion, Settlers of Catan, King of Tokyo, Alhambra, and Ticket to Ride); bring your own game, learn a new game or master an old favorite.

Hillsboro Main Library: 1-4pm; Lots of board games and electronic games for adults, teens, and children of all ages.

Sherwood Public Library: 2-4pm, Children & family board games, cards & puzzles in the Community Room; Ages 10-100 in the Young Adult area.

Tigard Public Library: Saturday 10am-6pm & Sunday (Nov. 16) 12pm-6pm, "International Games Weekend;" Games are taking over the library! Bring your friends or the whole family and play it up with self-service board games, card games and more. Young Adult Room.

West Slope Community Library: "Make & Play" game design workshop for all ages, 12:30-2:30pm; table games set up throughout the library all day (including Hanabi, Pandemic, Tsuro, Carcasonne, Trival Pursuit, Scrabble, and others).

If you use the 3M Cloud Library on an Apple device and recently updated the app this week, you may find the app crashes. 3M Cloud Library has traced the crashing to the syncing of bookmarks to the cloud. They are working hard to resolve the issue.

In the meantime, if you can’t read your book in the 3M Cloud app on an Apple device, here’s what to do:

Use the 3M Cloud app in airplane mode – this will prevent the bookmarking syncing issue from crashing the app

Uninstall and reinstall the app, but do not open the book that crashed the first time, unless you have your device in airplane mode.

We apologize for the inconvenience, and thank you for your patience! Hopefully 3M Cloud will have this resolved soon.